Sod has traditionally been considered a luxury or an expensive necessity when its installation was required. With increasing concern about soil erosion, the uncertainty and difficulty of establishing seeded areas, and sod prices that have lagged the prices of most other items in the U.S. economy, however, individuals and organizations are becoming more receptive to the idea of installing sod. Recently, harvesters have become available that make large rolls of sod rather than the traditional 18 in. wide and 72 in. long roll. The availability of large rolls of sod has reduced the costs to harvest, load, transport, and install sod by reducing labor to that required using traditional nine square foot rolls. A large sod roll 30 in. wide and 180 ft. long has 50 square yards and a 42 in. wide roll 260 feet long contains 100 sq. yards.
Such rolls may be desirable and have advantages such as lower cost to harvest, but they are too massive for individual persons to manage without the assistance of mechanical devices. Machinery for cutting large rolls of sod has developed more quickly than has the machinery for installing those rolls, although several workers have introduced models for the purpose of laying large rolls of sod.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,452 to Link titled “Sod Roll Laying Apparatus and Method” issued Dec. 26, 1997 and shows a machine that holds the sod roll in front but requires the operator to stand at the rear. The Link machine wheels are configured to travel over the soil as the machine is moved in reverse while the sod unrolls. Although the lift arms can break down stacked sod rolls, the operator cannot view the sod being laid. In addition, the sod roll cannot be conveniently positioned closer to obstacles than the length of the machine. The operator must dismount to inspect the roll or cut sod from it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,880 to Woerner for a “Sod Roll-Out Machine with Endless Tracks” issued May 3, 1994. The device is a walk-behind vehicle that is likely to cause scuffing when turns are made over turf or surfaces that have been prepared to received sod.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,278 to Hess issued Jun. 1, 1993 for his “Apparatus for Laying Turf.” The Hess machine is a tractor-pulled device that supports a large sod roll over a multiplicity of transversely coaxially mounted powered wheels. An endless rotating track is interposed between the top of the wheels and the bottom of the sod roll. The track supports the sod roll and causes the roll to rotate so as to dispense sod from a trailing chute. A separate machine must be used to load the roll onto the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,815 issued to Brouwer et al. Jul. 5, 1988 for their “Sod Laying Machine.” The Brouwer machine is an articulated-steering machine that holds the sod roll in front of the advancing machine so that the machine wheels pack the turf as it unrolls. The narrow wheel spacing and elevated sod roll position necessitates outrigger wheels for stability.
What is needed is a sod laying machine that has a relatively low center of gravity.
A further need is for a sod laying machine that allows an operator to sit close to the sod roll so that it is easy to see the placement of the roll relative to previously placed sod.
Another need is for a sod laying machine that can carry the sod roll generally between the drive wheels.
A still further need is for a sod laying machine that has continuously variable speed drive with higher speeds for transport and lower speeds for sod placement.
Yet another need is for a sod laying machine that is quickly and easily hydraulically adjustable so that sod rolls of varying widths may be placed without the necessity of obtaining different machines or engaging in time-consuming change-over procedures.
Also needed is a sod laying machine that does not traverse freshly placed sod before any desired manual placement, adjustment, or relocation tasks can be completed.